Worm question

weldrwomn

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Ok, so Marcie is an indoor cat. I have had her for almost a year and she is up to date on her shots. I can't see how this could happen, but this morning I saw a something that looked like a grain of rice on her butt. I wiped it off and on closer inspection, it seems to be a worm of some sort. How in the world could she get this? Is it because she occasionally eats bugs that she hunts? Can this wait until Monday when the vet is in? Is there an over the counter type thing that I can buy in the pet store?
 

sharky

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DO NOT but OTC ... at best they arent as effective at worst they can harm you kity...

Wait till monday unless a whole army of worms comes out.... COULD she have fleas?? worms are from fleas and from an animal eaten with them
 

beandip

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That's a tapeworm segment. Cats get them from ingesting fleas, or mice I think. It only takes one flea if it's the right flea. My indoor cats have had them on a couple of occasions. Yes, I would just call the vet on Monday. I normally just call with kitty's current weight and then go pick up the pills from them (the vet). Oh, and yes - treat for the fleas (advantage, frontline, or revolution only please) if you haven't already. In our case, the fleas were long gone but the nasty worms were left behind.

I think roaches can pass hookworm larvae but I don't know of any other bug info.

An "army" of worms would be scary. LOL
 
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weldrwomn

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ok, so I found a new vet that keeps saturday hours. I didn't like her old vet anyways. Marcie got a deworming shot and some frontline. The vet didn't find any evidence of fleas, but she did confirm that it only takes one. Now I have a new problem, Marcie's fur is now all icky and greasy from the frontline. Should I bathe her or will this decrease the effectiveness of the frontline?
 

sharky

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DONT bathe her right yet... if the vet is still open call and ask when
... I think 24 hrs but that is not clear in my head
 

isadora44

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Originally Posted by sharky

DO NOT but OTC ... at best they arent as effective at worst they can harm you kity...
I've heard a lot on this site that OTC worm medications are bad for cats. Just curious as to why? I gave one of my cats an OTC worm medication once when she had worms. Within 48 hours she had pooped out all the worms and she didn't suffer any ill effects. What am I missing?
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by Isadora44

I've heard a lot on this site that OTC worm medications are bad for cats. Just curious as to why? I gave one of my cats an OTC worm medication once when she had worms. Within 48 hours she had pooped out all the worms and she didn't suffer any ill effects. What am I missing?
You got lucky... OTC arent bad but MOST of the time they are effective and often people dont follow the directions or they do and the cat or dog has a BAD to Fatal reaction...

My old conventional vet said it right ... He said it was a waste of money.. as I still had to pay him to cover the right worm... Oh and wormers from the vet cover MORE TYPE s of worms and often require only a pill or one dose
 
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weldrwomn

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The vet that gave Marcie a shot today said that I have to give her a pill in three weeks just to make sure that I got all of the life cycles of the worms.
 
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